


My Love Won't Change

by 7SabSantos53



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: #bughead, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-23
Updated: 2020-06-30
Packaged: 2021-03-04 06:48:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 10,777
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24879496
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/7SabSantos53/pseuds/7SabSantos53
Summary: He remembered her saying that he needed to answer himself if Betty's mistake was bigger than the love he felt. 'Certainly not,' he replied. 'So now you need to decide if it will hurt more to try to trust her again or end this relationship Jones, because both things will hurt, I'll let you know soon. But only you know what will hurt more.'OrWhere Jughead really wants to forgive a Betty that he knows is sorry and loves him, but it may take a little longer than they thought.
Relationships: Betty Cooper/Jughead Jones
Comments: 14
Kudos: 29





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Is anyone still writing about what things would be like after the 4x17 betrayal (which everyone with a little brain knows was ridiculous) or am I the only one who didn't get over it? 
> 
> Also, forgive the possible mistakes, English is not my first language.

**Jughead**

Going back to Riverdale wasn't exactly his idea of fun, but apparently his sister had used those two words in the same sentence. In fact, years ago he had left the town with the certainty that he would never be able to think of 'fun' and 'Riverdale' at the same time. It is not that he had never returned to the town in recent years, as painful as the memories there were, he would not fail to see his father and little sister whenever he could. He also did his best to not be in town when Betty was, but he had also seen her a few times over the years, their family was too complicated to avoid each other forever, he was almost certainly that he had said that for her. 

_ "Betty, understand please, I can't see how to trust you right now."  _

_ And he had tried. From the very moment she told him about the kiss with Archie and begged him to forgive her, he tried to imagine himself doing it. It's true that she probably didn't know that, since they were talking about how to maintain a long-distance relationship when she confessed what she had done, and he said he needed to think. He had run away to be alone, not that he managed for a long time. 'Serpents take care of each other.' That's what Toni said, although they both knew that she wasn't even a serpent anymore. Apparently Betty had told Cheryl, so Toni knew, and if he knew that girl's determination (and he did, because they were incredibly similar) then it was better to give in, and that's why Toni ended up being the person he talked about what happened. He remembered her saying that he needed to answer himself if Betty's mistake was bigger than the love he felt. 'Certainly not,' he replied. 'So now you need to decide if it will hurt more to try to trust her again or end this relationship Jones, because both things will hurt, I'll let you know soon. But only you know what will hurt more.' _

_ "I'm sorry Betty, I really wanted to be able to deal with this lack of confidence, but I can't."  _

_ "Jug, please let me try to win your trust, I know I made a very bad mistake and ruined everything, but I want to prove you that I love you."  _

_ "I don't doubt that, Betty, and I love you with all my heart too, but I don't know how to make it work now, and I really think trying now would hurt us even more."  _

_ "So, how... What do we do?" _

_ "Do not know. Tell each other when you or me need to come home?"  _

_ "I don't want us to be avoiding each other."  _

_ "To say that I want to would be a lie, Betty. I wish that I didn't need to have this conversation and that none of this had happened." He replied angrily. "But it happened and we will deal with the consequences. I don't want to stop coming home, this is where my father and my sister are, but your mother is also here, so you will also want to come. Then we will warn each other."  _

_ "So we will never speak again if it is not to say 'don't come home this weekend'?" She knew she had no right, but she was still angry.  _

_ "It wouldn't be very healthy to act like nothing happened, Betty, but I'm not saying that I'm going to hang up on you if you NEED to talk about something. But we also can't have a normal friendship after everything we've been through." _

_ "I... I understand."  _

He believed he had been very mature, they talked, he explained how he felt, and he didn't act like a child blaming her for everything. And over the years, they kept their promises, always warned when they went to Riverdale, but their contact was limited to that: 'Going to see mom this weekend.' or 'JB asked me to go home this week, and honestly, I really need to do this.'

And more recently he had even received 'Congratulations on the book. I always knew you could do that, you're an amazing writer. By the way, I started reading and I'm loving it.' And as ridiculous as it was to admit, he had a smile when he knew she was enjoying it. His career began when he received advice to make himself known in the field of writing. Then he started talking about books on the internet, and people started to respect his opinion, so when he released his first book, many people already knew who it was, which was good. He was becoming very well known to readers of crime stories, which was a little scary, but it was also fun to be treated like a real writer. 

But again, getting back to the subject Betty, beside the short message about when one of the two was going home, they had only actually talked a few times. She once had a horrible week and he was sure she was drunk when she called him up and spoke nonstop. As promised, he didn't hang up, he listened to her until she fell asleep, but said nothing, anyway, he didn't think she remembered that. The orther time was when he got a call from his father saying that Alice was in the hospital, something to do with something crazy that Polly had done with her mother (not that it surprised him), and he went over there. When Betty saw him, she was surprised and asked why he had gone there. When he said he would not let his father deal with all that alone, she started to cry. He knew she was suffering from seeing her mother like that, so he hugged her. For the first time in years. And he heard her talking about how he wanted Polly to be normal, that her family was normal and that kind of thing didn't happen, he couldn't deny that he liked being there for her. But at the same time it was torturous, he loved her, so much that he had never tried to date someone else, he knew it would always be her. So staying there wondering how many people she would have dated by then had been no fun at all. And to make worse, she kissed him that day. He chose to believe it was the sadness of the moment. He had kissed only a other girl in all these years without Betty. He was not okay when that happened, he was remembered Betty, he ended up doing something he didn't was proud: drink to forget. So when a girl from his class started talk to him and then kissed him, he kissed her back. But he couldn't get Betty out of his head, so he realized he was unfair to the other girl, so he stopped the kiss, excused himself and got up to go, and he never again allowed himself to regret what he had lost with Betty. Because after kissing that girl, he realized that it wasn't just love that he would never feel for anyone other than Betty, he would never feel anything. He remembered the attempt with Toni years ago, it hadn't worked to stop loving Betty and it never would. It had been a little over a year since he and Betty had broken up when that girl kissed him, and he still felt unfaithful, as if he were cheating on Betty. Anyway, when months after that night Betty kissed him in the hospital, he preferred to believe that she was just sad, because if he allowed himself to have hope she love him to even not try to move on, he would get crazy. So they never talked about it. In addition to that day, they saw each other only once, when Charles was able to go home on a holiday and both went too. It was not the most comfortable family dinner, but they made what they could. But now he would have to stay close to her for more than a few hours or an entire day. It was JB's graduation and he wouldn't miss it, but Betty would go too. Two weeks. It would all have to stay in Riverdale, and despite JB's certainty that it would be 'super fun', he didn't feel that way. But honestly, when he was a kid and his little sister was born and their parents were... Well, FB and Gladys, he didn't think he and JB would survive for him to graduate, so he needed to admit that see her doing that too was really special. As much as she now had a family, there was a time before their mother took her away and before life was crazy when they were both against the rest, so he was proud of her. She had become an incredible person, and he knew he had played an important role in making that happen, so he would give up the urge to avoid seeing Betty and be celebrating that moment. For two damn weeks. Ugh, who was he trying to fool? It was going to be a hell. 

  
  
  
  


**Betty**

Why was she so stupid? She would spend the next two weeks in the same house as the one man she truly loved, the same person with who she had screwed up everything. Also the same person she never managed to overcome. Not that she tried, she knew she couldn't and she had told him that years ago, on that damned afternoon when all it was over. 

_ The beanie she had made for him was on the table, not that she could see right, since the tears were making her vision difficult, but she could see when he put it there. He was determined and he would not forgive her, he was giving up on them both. Which was unfair of her to say, since it was her own fault. But she wanted him so badly to give her a chance to try. Shit, they had managed to get over everything bad in this world, could they get over it too, why didn't he see it? But did she have a right to want that yet? She was no longer sure of anything. Well, except that she would love that boy for the rest of her life.  _

_ "Jug, I know you're not going to change your mind, but I love you, I don't know what to do with all that feeling here." _

_ He looked hurt when he replied: "You will probably find someone to give this love to. I hope that when it happens you will realize what you have and don't lose Betty."  _

_ "It won't happen Jug, I already said and I will repeat it for you to understand: I never stopped loving you, and I can't do that. I may have been an idiot and horribly wrong with you, but I didn't stop loving you. I screwed up and lost you, but my love won't change. Will yours?"  _

_ "Apparently you ruined my heart for anyone. I love you since I understood what love is. That won't change, but neither will my decision, Betty, being with you knowing what happened will hurt me too much, and that's no worse. The worst part is that with this pain, I won't be able to make you happy, and I sincerely believe that you unhappy is the only thing I'm not strong enough to see."  _

_ "It is impossible for me to be unhappy if you are with me."  _

_ "It is what you prefer to believe, but it is not true." _

Remembering that conversation hurt as much as having it. The years had passed, and she admitted that she was probably wrong: she couldn't bear to see Jug not trusting her and being unhappy about it. She wish he had let her try to gain that trust, but that hadn't happened. But there was something about which she was right, and always would be: she loved him. It didn't change years after she assured him of it, and it never would. She did what he wanted. She always warned him when she wanted to go home, she even canceled her visits when he wanted to go to Riverdale. It had been short on messages and only when needed. Although she did falter, she was not made of iron. Twice she remembered that she couldn't take it and did what he certainly didn't want to do. Once she called him and talked to him for hours, she didn't remember him answering, he didn't hang up either. Which might have been better since she was drunk and didn't quite remember what she said. It could very well have been anything between 'I had a horrible week and I just want to vent' or 'why aren't you here? I'm so lonely in this damn romm'. The way she was stupid, she probably said both. But that wasn't even the worst mistake, when he went to the hospital where her mother was, and was the kindest person in the world and listened to her for what was probably hours and hours, she couldn't take it. She kissed him. 

_ He wasn't kissing her back. He didn't push her away either, he just wasn't giving it back. He let her kissing him, and she tried really hard make him kiss her back, but he didn't. She continued as long as possible when the other person did not reciprocate, but she had to stop at some point. He was not saying anything. But she knew him well enough to realize that he wanted to kiss her back, but he used all the self-control he had to not do that. If he tried so hard not to let his guard down for even a few seconds, she didn't stand a chance.  _

He didn't leave that day. He stayed with her, even after she kiss him. But they never talked about it. Not that they used to talk about any topic. But that had been her only kiss since she and Jughead broke up, so she was always sad to remember it had been that way. So honestly she knew it would be two hellish weeks. She had arrived in Riverdale a week earlier, and would stay for a while, but for two weeks Jughead would also be there and she had no idea how she was going to control so many feelings inside her. She loved him so much, if she could only get him to let her try, she would never again make the mistake of losing what she loved most: him. But at least she had a plan for things not to start strangely. She had finished the book he wrote, but she hadn't said it to him yet, because the only answer she would have was for sure 'thanks', like when she said she started and was liking. Then she would personally say she liked it, it was a start. If she managed to have a normal conversation for two weeks, she wouldn't go crazy and kiss him every time he walked into a room. Maybe she would make a joke about the dedication of his book. 

" _ For my dad, who even with all the ups and downs that life has given him, is still for me the best man I know. _

_ For my little sister, because from the moment she was born she was my reason for not giving up.  _

_ And for my older brother, who is too jealous and did not accept the initial dedication that did not contain him.  _

_ Thank you for not freaking out with me for making you all read every draft of this book, I managed to finish it only thanks to your patience."  _

To be honest, she couldn't make fun of what he said about Charles because would make she remembered what he said about the story he had written for college. 

_ "Don't worry, if that idea ever becomes a book and I publish it, I will let the world know that it started thanks to your beautiful, creative and evil mind." _

_ She smiled beside him on the bed: "People will think I'm a lunatic." _

_ "As if it bothered you." _

_ "You're right, better this way. Then people will think 'better not hit on this hot guy who is also an incredible writer, his girlfriend is a bit of a psychopath'. And I will not need to kill someone."  _

Damn good memories that always made her want to cry. How could she spend two weeks with Jughead and not go crazy? Downstairs, she heard Jellybean's screams and laughter, which meant that she would have to find out quickly how not to go crazy, because the reason for that had already arrived. 

  
  



	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Sorry Jug, I don't know what got me to ask that. I have no right to know, forget it." 
> 
> "It's okay. No, I'm not seeing anyone."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think that in the course of the chapter it will be pretty obvious, but even so: as the narrative changes between Jug and Betty, one day goes by. Except for the last two narratives, when two days pass between one and the other which are omitted from the story.

**Betty**

Anyone watching from outside would say that the first day was easy. Of course, inside Betty's mind, things hadn't been so simple. When she heard Jellybean and Jughead talking downstairs, she decided that the sooner she saw him, the easier it would be, she could go through the strangest part right away. As FP and Alice were not at home, Betty had to face only Jug and JB. And remembering how both of them had been angry with her five years ago, it was not a very simple task, even that now they did not hate her anymore. Well, at least not JB, about Jug she wasn't so sure. But he talked to her normally, although as always their conversations were superficial, everything they said in the first day he was there just made her miss even more when they talked about everything. But honestly, she couldn't complain, years earlier she had thought he would never even speak to her again, and now he was in the same house acting normally. Or at least as normal as possible among them, if she were lucky, the hardest would be over. Not that she used to be that lucky, but it didn't hurt to believe. 

  
  


**Jughead**

When he decided to spend Jellybean's last week at school in Riverdale, he didn't remember that with her at school, and FP and Alice working, he would spend most of the day alone in the same house as Betty. The day before it had been easy to ignore that, although FP and Alice weren't home when he arrived, at least it was Sunday, so JB was with them. But now he was aware that the only person in the house with him was Betty. At least he had time to stay in the room typing out ideas for a new book in the future, he really had to take advantage when ideas came up anyway. 

"Oh, hi Jug, sorry, I thought you went out somewhere, you were incredibly quiet." Betty said as she enters the room. Great, now that the plans to write until someone came back had gone to space. 

"Hi Betty, I started a book chapter, I usually really forget the world when it happens." Yeah, It is what usually happens, but in that room he barely concentrated because he just kept reminding that she was upstairs.

"Already? You just published a book." 

"This one has no release date, it was just an idea that came to my mind." 

"Can I see? By the way, I finished your book and loved it."

He realized that she already spoke sitting next to him, which would not make it easier for him to stop being distracted.

"Sure. Maybe you shed some light that will help me know how to move on with the story."

She smiled as she replied: "You lived in Riverdale, I'm sure you already have enough criminal ideas to write books for the rest of your life." 

  
  


**Betty**

The day before, she and Jughead had talked about the book he was writing. For a moment, while they talked about different ideas for this book, she allowed herself to pretend that nothing had changed. She allowed herself to pretend it was like the days they were together and he always showed her everything he wrote.

_ "Jug, this is the best thing you ever wrote." _

_ "I think it will win the contest."  _

_ "Sorry, I just finished my first chapter."  _

_ "It's called killing Mr. Honey." _

_ "Great title."  _

It was incredible how even those little things she missed. Over the years, she learned to deal with the initial pain caused by the break up. And she was happy, she had loved her years in college, she had loved her course in criminal psychology, she had made good friends. But to say she didn't miss Jug was a lie. She might be happy, but she knew she would never feel again what she had with him. She would always miss their love, but if he accepted at least one friendship (which would already be much more than they had), she would be happy. Maybe not satisfied, she would probably always want more, but she would be happier. Well, she could at least try. So when she found Jughead exactly where they had spent most of the day yesterday, she knew what to say. 

"You will not spend another day sitting on the couch typing your book, leave it for when the publisher drives you crazy wanting the book before the deadline they had agreed with you. I haven't seen you eat anything from Pop's since you arrived, that's a sin. I was going there, let's go with me." 

  
  


**Jughead**

How was it possible that it was still Wednesday? The day before Betty had dragged him to Pop's. Okay, that was an exaggerated way of explaining the situation. She had asked to go with him and he went because he wanted to, no one dragged anyone. And he also had to admit that it was fun, he missed the lightness of talking to her. And it was good to know something about her life. She had finished the course and had even been offered a job, which didn't surprise him, since she was an incredible researcher. 

_ "Sometimes it looks like the job chose us, right?"  _

_ "Definitely. I feel that way. I can't think of anything other than writing." _

He wanted to be able to find out more, but if he didn't control himself, he would ask about a possible boyfriend and hate himself if he was sad if she told him about one. And he would hate himself if he were happy if she said she had none. Basically he would hate himself for still liking her. Not that he regretted the break up years ago, he knew it had been the best decision at the time, he couldn't see how to trust Betty after what happened. Besides, the years had been good, he liked how things were in his life, but he did miss Betty. If there was a way to change things, he would do it, but it wasn't his fault anyway, so there wasn't much he could do. With Betty, he felt happier than he would ever be again, but she had made a decision that hurt him, and he had made one that separated them. And now, even if she wasn't with anyone at the moment, one day she would be, and he would need to fix everything he felt for her, because he would always see her. And he had no idea how he was going to deal with it, he couldn't wait for the week to end and have JB at home with them next time, because staying alone with Betty like right now wouldn't help him think of anything else.

  
  


**Betty**

She didn't know how it was possible, but just a few days with Jughead already made her feel so good. It was so nice to know about him from all those years when they were apart. The problem is that when those two weeks were over, she knew things would go back to what they had been. If it depended on her, she would change everything, she wanted so badly to continue seeing him and actually talk to him, but she didn't believe it would happen. She only had those two weeks in his company, because when they saw each other after that, it would be like the other times when they only talked as necessary, and however much it always hurt, after spending those two weeks it would be even worse. Now she had more memories to add to the old ones and that would not make things easier. But she only had those two weeks to pretend that things could be normal between them, and no one could judge her for making the most of it. 

  
  


**Jughead**

"Finally this is over, I never need to go to school again, is there greater happiness?" JB said as he entered the house and saw Betty and Jughead on opposite sides of the couch.

"Did you hear that Jug? The child hasn't even gone to college yet. Do you tell her or do I?" 

"I think it's better none of us say anything, leave her thinking that the worst is really over."

"Shut up, both of you." Jellybean replied. "Nobody can celebrate anything in this house." 

"Sorry, I'm going to pretend we're all normal people: how was your last day, dear sister?"

"Sucks, like always. But at least it was like that for the last time. I'm finally free!" There was no time to answer JB, as she ran up the stairs and Jug found himself alone with Betty again, as it had been most of the last week. And the biggest surprise: as it had happened most of the time, they were laughing. 

"How will the poor kid react when she found out that that was actually the good part, huh?" He heard Betty say.

"I don't know, but her innocence that things get better in college is so cute that I don't want to tell her the truth." 

"Something tells me that it makes you a bad brother." He didn't even need to look at her to know that she was smiling as he said that. 

"Whatever, I never said I was a good one anyway." And as he was an idiot, he ended up looking at her as he spoke, and as always, his stomach turned over just seeing her smile at him. 

  
  


**Betty**

"Are you sure you will stay to tidy up the kitchen?" FP asked with Alice by his side to her and Jug who were already carrying the dishes to the sink. 

"Sure, Jug and I have already started." 

"Yeah, besides, dinner was wonderful Alice, and we have to pay for it somehow."

"Okay then, I'm not going to complain for sure." Alice replied and then she and FP left the kitchen. 

As much as Betty had already gone home numerous times and had even stopped thinking that her mother and FP together could be a little weird, with Jug beside her washing the dishes she couldn't help but notice the couple.

"Don't you think it's incredible that after so long, they've been together again?" If he found the question strange, she didn’t notice, but either way, she didn’t risk looking at him to see his reaction. 

"Well, I think so. Maybe a small part of them always liked each other. So it’s good that they're together. I think we both agree that my father and you mother became better people after they were together. " 

"For sure. But being better than they were in our early teens is not too difficult, Jug." 

He smiled: "Certainly not, but apparently apart they couldn't." 

"You're probably right. And you, are you seeing someone?" She didn't know what the hell had hit her, of course she was always curious about it, but where did she get the idea of spoiling the good thing between them by asking such a thing? And this time his tension was being clear. "Sorry Jug, I don't know what got me to ask that. I have no right to know, forget it." 

"It's okay. No, I'm not seeing anyone." 

"And why not? Since when?" What was she doing? Interrogating him? 

"Because I was never interested in anyone like that." 

"Oh... I Got it." Stupid heart that had jumped for joy at the knowledge. "And what about you?" She heard him ask. His head was down, as if he expected her to say she was getting married in two weeks or something like that. 

"I'm not with anyone, either. And... I haven't even wanted to try that either. " 

"I see. I'm already done here with the dishes, so, until tomorrow." And then she watched him just turn around and leave the kitchen. 'Congratulations Betty, you managed to screw it up again' was the only thing she managed to say to herself.

  
  


**Jughead**

That's not what he should be thinking about on his sister's graduation day. But it was not his fault, the day before Betty had had the brilliant idea of talking about possible romantic interests. Or rather, in the case of both about the lack of it. It is not that he was not happy to know that she also apparently never liked someone as much as she liked him. The problem was just the opposite: he liked it. He was happy to know that what they lived for her was also so important, although she didn’t show it very well while kissed someone else. Again, not that he was still angry, because he had already let it go. But now I was confused and not understanding why she hadn't gotten over it and moved on and wondering if she was basically being casual with everyone so that she wouldn't be serious or if she wasn't even trying anything or... Ugh, in short: he was confused. The more time he spent with her the more it reminded him that he still liked her and the more he wanted to admit it. And he didn't think it would be a good idea. Because they had had something good and remarkable, and the way it ended up made him believe that he would never be able to return to it, so it was absurd to fantasize as if it were possible. Oh shit, next week was going to be such a hell that he almost wanted to leave early. And honestly, if it weren't for the sister he would have gone. Ah, she would owe him one. 

  
  


**Betty**

As proof that she was stupid, she had managed to screw it up. Two days earlier she totally lost control of her mouth that was definitely not being controlled by her brain. And she started interrogating Jughead about him seeing someone, so at graduation things got weird between them. Not that he wasn't always being kind to her, he never changed that in all those years. But he always seemed tense and distant, and she hated it. To make matters worse, she had been happy to learn that he was not with anyone. Could it be that, like her, he had never even been casually with anyone? As much as she didn't want to get her hopes up, she was already doing it, and even though she thought it would be impossible before, she found herself becoming more and more attached to him. And desperate, because she knew he was leaving at the end of that week and they were barely talking again. She wanted so badly to know about him, wanted so badly to know if he had forgiven her for what he had done, and as much as she tried not to do that, she also wanted so much to be with him again. It was excruciating. At least he wasn't home now. He had gone out with FP and JB and she was sure she heard him and his sister saying 'those who see from a distance will even think that we are a normal family'. So she had a few hours to figure out how to stop acting like an idiot around Jughead.

  
  


**Jughead**

At least the last two days had been easier than graduation day. He had spent less time at home and no time alone with Betty, which made it a little easier to think of anything else. And although he was at home now, he and JB were talking about her college and the days she would spend with him before that. She had begged them to travel together and he ended up giving in, because to be honest he also wanted to go anywhere. And poor JB needed to go somewhere before she left hell that was Riverdale to hell that would be college. 

"So it's okay if I go on Friday, huh?" If JB was asking him it meant that they had something arranged and now the traitor would leave him alone. In fact, worse: alone with Betty. Great.

"I thought the purpose of my visit was to celebrate your graduation."

"And it is, but when I asked you seconds ago if you really want to go to the bar with me and the guys in the class you said 'not even if you pay me for it'." 

"And I haven't changed my mind yet." 

"So I don't kn..." 

"I should kill you."

"Jug, I hate this situation too, but I don't want you to leave, and that doesn't even make sense, since we will be traveling on the weekend anyway. Friday will be the only day that I will go out with my class and even though I have called you several times you keep saying that you do not want to spend Friday surrounded by teenagers." 

"And I really don't want to." 

"Fine. I can stay here if the idea of spending friday here with her is really that horrible." 

It was horrible. Not being with Betty, even though completely confused inside with everything he always felt for her, her company was always good. But it would be horrible and uncomfortable for both of them. But JB was a more normal teenager than he and he wouldn't keep her from her friends, so he would never tell her that. 

"No way you are going to spend the last Friday in the town away from your friends if you want to see them. I was exaggerating, you can go without worrying about me." 

  
  


**Betty**

Things hadn't changed since monday when she found herself thinking about how to stop acting like an idiot. And it was already friday. In fact, the only difference was that instead of being alone, she was now alone with Jughead. Wednesday and thursday had been a blur, he had spent a lot less time at home and that should have made it easier to help her think of something else. She didn't know if she was grateful for spending less time and didn't need to beat herself up about how to act, or if she was sad that she had less opportunity to spend time with him that last week. And now they were sitting watching a movie, probably to avoid having to talk a lot. She should have stayed in the room and she wouldn't even see it, and she would be avoiding a movie that was making their situation worse by bringing together a couple who were years apart. And the damn scene was being long. Shouldn't the movie be just action? Why had a couple been placed? Why was everyone determined to make it worse for her? 

"I... Maybe we'll watch something else." She started.

"Why? Just because they spent years hanging out with everyone they saw ahead of them and now they want to convince us that they loved each other all the time when they wouldn't even have broken up if they had been a little bit more mature?" She was even startled by the fury not contained in his voice. Not even when they broke up had he been so blunt about how it was all her fault. 

"I... I said I didn't even go out with anyone." 

"Ugh, my God, I was talking about the movie. Okay, I confess that with a lot of resentment, but it was still about the movie, if you were affected by what I said, know it wasn't supposed to hurt you." 

"Okay." She replied sadly. Perhaps she would even prefer him to argue with her about it, if she was lucky she would prove that her love had not changed, just as she had said years ago. "Jug, I was serious about never seeing anyone since we broke up." She no longer cared at all about appearances. She was sad, she missed him and he was going to leave the next day, she didn't know when she would see him, she was scared and honestly she didn't care anymore, she would just humble herself. She didn't want him to maintain the image that she had moved on, she didn't care that he figured out the truth. In fact, she wanted him to know. He at least deserved to know that she would always regret what happened. 

"No-one? Never?"

"And why would I do that? Like you said, to spend years hanging out with other people while I like the same one and I wanted to be with this one?"

"Yeah, it wouldn't make sense." He continued for a long time in silence, she thought it was the end of that conversation, which meant that although he had nothing serious with anyone, he also didn't like her anymore. Finally, he said: "I also continued to like the same one person, that's why I told you that day that I didn't go out with anyone else." 

"Jug? You…"

"I'm not saying that I regretted how things went on, Betty. I'm just saying that I also still love you, I said it wouldn't change. I mean, assuming here that this is what you feel."

"Of course it is. I tried to tell you that it wouldn't change too, but you didn't seem to want to believe it." 

"I did not want. And I honestly don't know if I want to believe it now." 

"Oh. Okay. I... I'm sorry about that. For making it hard for you to believe when someone says something like that." 

"Yeah, it was a little difficult at that time to know when you were telling the truth. Again, it's not meant to hurt you, it's just for you to understand why I didn't believe you." 

"I think I really deserve to hear all of this. If you ever decide that you can believe me, know that I certainly haven't changed what I feel yet. It won't change." 

"The rational part of me screams to never believe. But that part has never been able to speak louder than the rest of me." 

It was enough for her. She just couldn't take it anymore, she was going to go crazy again and was well aware that this time she would have no excuse for that. She would simply send her self-control to hell. She was no longer dominating her own body, it involuntarily approached Jughead and she just kissed him. But this time, she noticed that he was kissing her back. They would have to talk about it, she knew that. They would have to understand what was going on with them, how they would deal with that and everything, but at that moment she was tired of thinking. She just continued to kiss him while sitting on his lap. She had no idea how long they continued like this until an irritating sound drove them away e she saw him pick up his phone. Close to him as she was, she heard when the voice on the other side asked if was talking to Forsythe Jones III, which was strange, no one called him that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> IF this continues with an idea that I had initially, things will be pretty crazy. I honestly only know the reason for the call, but I still don't know how the story would continue after it was revealed. But things would probably go crazy. Anyway, thanks for reading.   
> Also, Jug's line: "they spent years hanging out with everyone they saw ahead of them and now they want to convince us that they loved each other all the time when they wouldn't even have broken up if they had been a little bit more mature" it's basically what I feel about the idea of Bughead breaking up, going out with other people and then the writers trying to convince us that they've been in love all that time, ugh. I get sick just thinking about it.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Unfortunately, we have bad news..."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Things got less crazy than I thought, thankfully. Anyway, it's impossible to think about Riverdale and not think about murders, right?

**Jughead**

He noticed when she approached. He knew she would kiss him and God, he wanted that so badly. He had no idea how it all happened, at one point they were extremely uncomfortable watching a movie, then talking about their relationship that had ended years ago and then somehow they're kissing. And then she went up to his lap and he wasn't thinking anymore. It had been years since he had felt that way, which only confirmed that it was always with her. He didn't know how they would deal with it later, but he didn't even want to think about the after in that moment, he just wanted to continue. In fact it was so good that if it depended on him, there would be no 'after' because they would never stop it. Unfortunately, his cell phone had other plans, since it had decided to ring. And now a voice he didn't know asked if he was Forsythe III, which was annoying him even more. If the person was disturbing him at that moment, it should at least be sure for who it was calling. 

"Unfortunately, we have bad news, Mr. Jones. We found a body. The identity contained a name, but then when we went to confirm it, the prints matched those of Gladys Jones, who was on our record for an old stint by the police. We need a family member for identification." 

"WHAT?" 

"We are very sorry to have to report this news, Mr. Jones." But he wasn't sorry. In fact, he was anesthetized, he felt nothing at all. After a period of silence, the voice on the phone continued: "But we really need someone to do the identification." 

It was no surprise to him that the voice didn’t seem to be really touched by the situation, he had probably done it so many times... But himself also couldn’t feel anything, so he couldn't be mad with the other person. 

"Thank you for calling to give the news, unfortunately I can't just travel wherever the body was found now to make any identification."

"You have a sister, right, Mr. Jones? Is it possible that we will contact her to do this?" 

He felt anger wanting to dominate him. His sister had already dealt with too many problems thanks to their mother. He would in no way make her have to recognize her body as well. 

"My sister is 18 years old, sir. I don't think she should be dragged from school to recognize her mother's body." Jellybean had already finished school, but the part of her not having to be forced to do the recognize was still true, so he saw no problem with dramatizing the situation a little.

"We need someone to do the recognition, Mr. Jones, for the information we have, she wasn't living with anyone." It was already possible to see that the person was getting irritated, and he was not sure how the laws for such cases worked. But he knew that he couldn't be forced to do that, and he knew that his mother had chosen to leave them years ago and that until then she was still a drug dealer and continued to lie to him, his sister and father. He dealt with it very well and he no longer missed her presence in life, so he wasn't at all in order to have to think about her. He didn't want to be insensitive, but he saw no other way to deal with the situation.

"Again, sir, we can't help it. The prints have already confirmed that it's her, right?" 

"Fine. We will call if news comes up about the case. Again we are sorry for your loss." He did not believe that the person felt that much, since it was looking quite irritated with him. But at least he had managed to end that call. And probably making the officer (is that what the person was?) mad at him. And had the voice said 'case'? Was there a crime involved or was it just the expression used? Why were he and Betty standing? When he had made her get up form his lap? Or had she been up on her own? How could he not have seen that happen? His mother was dead? Would he have to tell JB? He knew she hadn't spoken to their mother in years, just like him, but still, how would she react? Would she want to travel the next day? Was that what he should be thinking after such news? Had they said they had found an identity with a false name? Why did it seem like Betty kept talking? And why couldn't he understand anything? 

"Jug, are you listening to me?" 

"Sorry Betty, no, I wasn't. What is it?" 

"I was only able to hear the part that you said. But, your mother…?"

"Yeah. It seemed be a cop. He called to give the news." He responded by coming back to reality.

"What happened?" 

"I don't know. They didn't give any details."

"Jug ... I don't even know what to say. I don't know what fits in that situation because I have no idea what you're feeling." If he hadn't been so shocked yet, he would have smiled. She still knew him very well. Enough to not say to him that she was sorry without even asking what he was feeling. 

"Honestly, I don't know what to feel, either."

  
  


**Betty**

Betty had to be honest, she didn't like Jughead's mother. And how could she? The little that she lived with her was to see Gladys as a drug dealer who lied to her family and abandoning her children. And she knew that the woman had done it all before. So to say that she wanted to burst into tears with the news was a lie. But Jug had thrown himself back on the couch with a lost look and said something about not knowing what he was feeling too, and that part made her want to cry. She couldn't bear to see him like that. And a cruel part of her was thinking that this was typical: when Jug and JB were almost leaving Riverdale to travel together and have fun as a normal family, something had happen. It was always like that in that small town, nobody stayed there for a few days without seeing something bad happen. 

"Do you think it's very mean of me not to be feeling anything?" She heard Jughead asking quietly.

"Of course not, Jug, don't think that." 

"I know she was pretty awful to me. But should I still be feeling something?" 

Her heart wouldn't take it, she would do anything to keep him from being sad that way. She sat down next to him before answering: "I think that the fact that you aren't feeling anything yet, it's because you're in shock, Jug. And that's okay."

"And if the shock passes and no sadness comes, would that make me a bad person? Insensible?" 

"No. And in any case, I don't think you're going to go on feeling anything. And if so, no one could criticize you for that." 

"She was my mother." 

"Yeah, and she made a terrible job being that. Not that you did badly, you're the best person I know, but not thanks to her, because she did a horrible job, honestly." 

He smiled when he replied: "Thank you, I think. I mean, on my mother's behalf I should be offended. But personally speaking I appreciate it." 

She found herself smiling too, and then she heard him say: "Honestly, now I can only think about how I'm going to have the news for JB. She hasn't spoken to our mother in years, but she has been very attached to her before."

"I'm sorry, Jug, this is not going to be easy."

"I can't believe that guy still wanted me to get her to recognize the body." 

"If you want, I'll do it. I mean, if they accept. But you haven't seen your mother as long as I have, so our chances of recognizing her would be the same." 

"I can't ask you to do that for me, Betty, but thanks."

"You are not asking me, I am offering myself." 

It took a while for her to convince him, and as much as she wasn't looking forward to her new responsibility, she would literally do anything to avoid further pain for Jug. It was too much for him to have to tell his sister that. She had no idea what that conversation had been like, but JB looked like she was crying when Betty saw her in the kitchen a little later. She asked Jug how JB had reacted and he said she was just as confused as he was, not knowing how to feel about it. But then she had felt sad, or at least sadder than him. Despite this, the next day they both went ahead with their travel plans. What for her was exactly what they had to do, they deserved a break from one problem after another in life. But she did not fail to notice that with all this, she and Jughead had not talked about the kiss and as much as she felt selfish to stay thinking in it, she feared that just like the last time, the conversation might never happen. 

  
  
  


**Three weeks later**

  
  


**Betty**

She had just closed Jughead's mother's file again, allowing her to be hopeful. Which summed up how her life had been in the past few weeks. After Jug and JB left Riverdale, she did the body recognition. She used the number that had made the call to Jughead to say she would do the recognize and when she identified herself as an investigator after that, she was called in to help with the case. Okay, she volunteered for this when she learned that the body had been found in an area that was part of her jurisdiction. And she had received the look she always received when she was excited about a case. The typical look of impatience that seemed to say 'newcomer spirit, soon ends'. But she didn't know the officer who had called Jughead, so they didn't know she had already been doing this for years, and she never got sick of the feeling of being able to do something good. They were not always able to save people, many times they had already died, but she liked to know that she could try to make the culprit pay. And she had a feeling she was going to get it soon. She had already discovered that Gladys was involved with dangerous people in her insistence on continuing to sell drugs, and she had some suspects. And as she always did, she picked up the phone while leaving the building where she worked. 

"Hey Betty. Leaving work?" Jug answered after a few rings.

"Going after a suspect." 

"Hey, is that Betty? Let me talk to her." She heard JB in the background. 

"You know that she can't keep giving you the information you try to get out of her, right?" Jughead replied his sister. 

"I didn't ask you that. And I don't pressure anyone. Let me talk to her. Hi Betty." She was sure JB had taken the cell phone out of Jughead's hand, but okay. 

"Hey JB, how's the trip going?"

"I'm loving. Who knew the world could be a beautiful place? How is the case?" Wow, JB had held on a few seconds before asking, it was a new record. 

"Is doing well JB, but with nothing new."

"It means 'I can't say what I know', right?" 

"Maybe." 

"I don't know why I keep trying, you haven't been very helpful to me." 

"How are you today?" 

"You know, as much as I feel good, sometimes I feel sad. And then I feel stupid for being sad, I didn't even talk to her." Before she could answer anything, she heard Jughead's voice: "I already told you that there is nothing stupid about it. Everything you feel is valid." And as always, her heart melted. He always took care of JB so much, and made sure to teach her the things that Betty was sure he wanted to hear too. And at the same time, she knew he never acted like his sister was helpless, he always tried to protect her, but he also always gave her the freedom to be herself. In short, he was probably the best brother, no matter how weird their family was, JB couldn't complain about that.

"Listen to Jug, JB. It's okay to feel that way."

"Thanks Betty, you guys have been amazing with me, really. I'm going to give Jug the phone back, bye." 

"Bye." 

"Hey." Jug said again.

"Hi, I don't have much time to talk, how are you?" 

"I'm fine, the trip has been great, how are you?"

"I'm fine too. Working like crazy, but nothing new in that, huh?" 

"Not really, the more places I know, the more story scenarios I imagine, I think we can't really avoid that."

"I think that's who we are. Jug, I have to go now, I'm going to find the suspect I told you about." 

"And does the suspect know that?" 

"No, but he'll already know." She heard Jug smiling: "Okay, good luck." 

"Thank you, good walks. And good story ideas too." 

And after hanging up the phone, she sighed thinking that all her days were being like this. Since she took Gladys' case, she always called to talk to Jug, which was just an excuse, since she couldn't even say anything she knew. But their conversations were always like that, it was much better than before his visit to Riverdale, because at least now they talk a little bit every day, but they had never come back to the subject of how they felt about each other. And that was scaring her, would it be that when the case was resolved, they would never speak again? 

  
  
  
  


**Three days later**

  
  


**Betty**

Her suspicions were right, she had found the culprit for Gladys's dead. With all the evidence she presented, the suspect soon confessed and made her job easier. 

"Wow. I'm not sure what to say Betty. I mean, I'm not surprised that you found the culprit. I just don't know what to say. Thanks, maybe? For doing what you could to get him to pay for it. I still don't understand how I feel about all this, to be honest, but regardless of what she did to me, I think the person responsible had to pay for the crime, so yeah, thank you." 

"I just did my job, Jug. And besides, you know I'm here, right? For you. Whatever you're feeling, if you need someone, you know I'm here, right?" 

"Yeah, I know Betty. Thanks." 

"Jug... That day at home... What we said, did you... Did you think about all of this?"

"It's been one of the only things I've been able to think about, Betty. " 

"Me too, Jug. Can we talk about this? Please, this is driving me crazy." 

"I don't want to talk about it right now Betty. In fact, I don't know what to talk about it right now. I don't want to resolve any of this over the phone." 

"And what do we do? I don't want to go back to how it was before. I don't want us to stop talking." 

"Do you really mind if we leave things as they are? We don't need to go back to what it was before, but we can keep it that way for now." 

"How long, Jug? Because I want to see you, I want us to talk about it."

"How about this: we continue like this for now. You know that in a few months, JB will move to college. And you know that is where you are living in now, and I will take her. We can meet and talk. Maybe trying to keep in touch at a distance for now is proof that we need that we still can try." 

"It will be your only offer, right?"

"Yes." 

"So I'm in Jug, because I don't doubt that we can do it. And because I prefer anything than not talking to you." 

  
  
  


**Two months later**

  
  


**Jughead**

In one thing Betty had been right, they had kept in touch during those months, and it hadn't been tiring. They always had something to talk about. And they always managed to speak every day, no matter how busy the schedule was for one or both. Was it a sign? Could they really make it work? He wanted it, it is true that during all those years he had never stopped wanting to be with her, but after getting closer in the last almost four months, now he wanted even more. To tell the truth, he didn't know how he could stand it if after their conversation that was going to happen soon, they didn't stay together. The more the days passed, the more their conversations turned to the day that they would see each other and they were both looking forward to it. He had already taken JB to college, which had been a sad time. He was proud of her, but even though he left home years before, after the months she lived with him before college, it was strange to see her move like that. He knew he would miss his sister even more now that he was used to having her around again all the time. JB knew he was going to meet Betty, in the first few days, he tried not to talk about it, but the sister was smart and curious, a bad combination, and she ended up finding out. Which was a good thing, because it gave him a third opinion about it, and she looked so happy for both of them. She said she knew they still liked each other during that time, and said she would be happy if they tried again. He tried to remain confident that things would work out, but he was a little terrified as he watched Betty approach.

"Hey Jug, it's so good to see you." She didn't wait for an answer from him. She just approached when he got up to greet her and kissed him. Not that he was complaining, of course, the conversation could wait, that was much better. 

"I missed you, Jug." She said without letting go of him.

"I missed you too, Betty." When they sat down, the waiter soon appeared and took their order when he left, Betty started to say: "How was it with JB?" 

"It was good, it's weird to think that she's already going to college. But she's excited. I mean, she'll soon find out how things are there and will be discouraged, but for now she is happy." 

"You didn't tell her that, did you?" 

"No, I let her enjoy the last vestiges of happiness that she will have for many years to come. How was work this week?"

"It was good. Pulled, but I like it." 

"Yeah, I know you love what you do." 

"I really like it. How's the new book going?" 

"Very well, the publisher got in touch with me this week, they will maybe publish it at the beginning of next year." 

"Good Jug, I'm so happy for you." 

"Thanks." They were silent for a while, waiting for the other to bring up the subject that brought them here. Until finally Betty started: "Jug ... After these months, has anything changed?" 

"From the things I said to you? No, I feel the way I did that day. Probably even more." 

"It makes me very happy, Jug. Nothing I felt for you changed too, it just increased." 

"Betty, years ago, we felt that way too. When we broke up it was difficult. I think we have to take this into account too. I don't want us to go through this again." 

"I don't want to have to go through this too, Jug. And we don't have to do that, we can make it work." 

"I also want to believe that we did it, Betty." 

"Jug, okay, I said that years ago, but I want to repeat it to you. I know that those years away from each other, it was my fault. I loved you so much, Jug. And I still do. We were younger, I was confused, and even though Riverdale was hell I was scared to leave. I was also so afraid of losing you, it was so scary that day in the forest, I couldn't bear to leave and… I don't know, to see you staying in Riverdale? Being swallowed by that evil town? None of this justifies my mistake but what i mean is, neither that time i had stopped loving you, nor now. And I won't." 

"I know that Betty, I love you too, it hasn't changed in these years and it won't change. And I really let it go what happened."

"And you want to try Jug? Because I do, I want it so much."

"Me too Betty, you have no idea how much. I just don't know how to start again." 

"You saw how well we worked with distance. Well, I have to admit that sometimes I missed you so much, that it hurt Jug, and hurt so much I didn't know if I could take it. But we dealt with it, and even though I missed you, I was so happy these months. You too?" 

"I missed you so much that it felt like a part of me was missing, Betty." 

"And during those years, Jug: even though we were apart, we never wanted anyone who wasn't each other. That means something, Jug. At the very least, it shows that we want to be together." 

"What if that hadn't happened? What if I told you that I had been with other girls over the years?" 

"I would be extremely selfish, because I would certainly be too sad, which would not be my right. But if you still wanted to be with me, I would still want to be with you Jug." 

"Really?" 

"You told me about the kiss with that girl. It hurt. It hurt a lot, I won't lie. But honestly, what was going on in my head was that you didn't even have to tell me that, and you did. So yes, if you had told me that unlike me, you had seen other people, it would hurt so much that I don't even like to think about it. If you still wanted to be with me, I would still be so happy that it wouldn't fit me." 

"I would have been destroyed if you had seen other people too. I don't know if I would be thinking of trying again if it had happened, but I certainly wouldn't have stopped loving you." 

"We've been through so much horrible things, Jug, but I've already noticed that when I'm with you, I can deal with the horrible things that happen."

"I think life is really unpredictable, right? But I think it's very smart too, it put us in the same place, at the same time, again."

"Now we just have to enjoy it while life's still being nice to us. I really believe we can do this, Jug." 

"I believe that too, Betty. And I wan…" He stopped when he felt Betty's hand in his. 

"I'm sorry we wasted years, Jug. I didn't want any of this to happen. I just wish it was you and me. It's just what I want now too."

"It's just what I want, too." He saw her get up from the chair in front of him and sit beside him. 

"Do you know how I am so sure we will make it, Jug?" She said bringing her face close to his. "Because the only thing I can't do anymore is you and me to stay away." He noticed that this time she didn't come any closer, she just waited. As if she wanted his decision, and he was quick to know what to do he had made up his mind a long time ago. So this time he approached and kissed her. 

And they had no idea when the food had arrived or if they had been tipped too much, or if someone after they left the restaurant was noticing them. They just kept looking at each other, and to the future that they knew they had ahead of them. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't know if Betty can just ask for a case is something that would happen in real life, but honestly, if Mary can work as a defense lawyer for her own son, then things don't need to make sense in Riverdale. Anyway, I loved writing this for you, it's over now (it lasted longer than I thought, I thought I could put everything in one chapter), it's a kind of thing that would never happen on the show, I know. But a girl can dream, right?  
> Thanks for reading this guys. ❤️

**Author's Note:**

> Understand that I really wanted a very angry Jughead and a super sorry Betty, but lately mature dialogues without accusations have pleased me more.  
> This idea came up in my head yesterday and initially it would be a single chapter that would go on until the happy ending, but I started to find it very big, so I stopped here. Tell me, would you like this to continue? The ideas for a possible continuation are still a little confused in my mind, but I would try to do something good, if you are interested. So, let me know.


End file.
